Crane Chaos
Crane Chaos is the tenth episode of the second season of Sudrian Stories. Plot Stormy weather, flooding, and hurricanes have been frequent things in the news as of late, and while it's mostly been hitting North America, there was quite a bit of rain hitting Sodor. While it didn't really matter for most parts of the island, it really was an issue on Duck's branch line, where parts of the track were flooded, and trees blocked the line. Judy and Jerome were assigned to lift the trees and whatever else they found lying around, but it was hard work. One day, Judy, Jerome, and Duck were going down the branch line, the cranes were enjoying the hard work, but it was straining. "This sure is hard." Said Judy. "Yeah, luckily, we're stopping at Arlesburgh. Right, Duck?" Asked Jerome. "...well.." Started Duck. "Actually, I guess Oliver and his freight train derailed. We have to save him." Judy and Jerome sighed. "Okay..." While Jerome was doing his part well, Judy was starting to degrade. "Come on, Judy! We can't give up, now!" Called Jerome. Judy was starting to strain, the tree trunk the friends were lifting was heavier than the average engine, it seemed to have belonged to one who was quite old. "Be careful, Judy." Warned Duck. "It appears that you're having a bit of trouble." "No, no..." Panted Judy. "Everything's fine." However, everything wasn't fine, Judy was in need of maintenance, and this suddenly was notable when the three heard a clanking sound, and the trunk came plummeting down. "Judy! Are you alright?!" Asked Duck. Judy wasn't alright. She couldn't lift her crane arm. "Oh, Judy.... I told you that you needed maintenance." Sighed Jerome. "I know, Jerome. I know." Retorted Judy. "It seems like I'll need repairs." Sadly, this was true. Judy was completely inoperable, thus Molly was to take Judy to a repair yard, along with bringing a replacement crane. As the three waited, Jerome seemed. "What's the matter, Jerome?" Asked Duck. "Nothing." Pouted Jerome. Judy knew why, however. "He still hasn't forgiven Rocky." She whispered. "Ever since he found out that he was replaced, Jerome's been in a bad mood whenever he's mentioned." Jerome cut in. "I can hear you! Boulder name hasn't done anything special, we've been here since the beginning, Judy. We've worked with the likes of Glynn and Neil for Pete's sake!" Duck groaned. "Alright, just don't cause too much issues. I'm pushing you two down the line, after all." The presumption was correct, as Molly arrived with Rocky. "Hello, everyone." She greeted. Jerome rolled his eyes upon the sight of the red crane behind her. "Hi, Molly." Said Judy. "Are you ready?" Molly smiled. "Sure are!" As Rocky was uncoupled, and Molly left with Judy, Rocky glanced over at Jerome. "Why, Jerome! It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Yeah, sure." Grumbled the old crane. While there was just silence for a moment, Duck decided to break it by coupling Rocky up in front of Jerome, and he continued to push them down the branch line. Nothing. Nobody talked, there wasn't even much debris that had to be picked up. Even when there was, it was small, and Rocky could pretty much lift it on his own, this left Jerome quite jealous. Jerome continued to be silent. Meanwhile, Duck and Rocky were having a friendly conversation. "We'll be picking up Oliver and his derailed train at the harbor, okay?" Before Rocky could reply however, Jerome spoke up. "I know." "He was talking to me." Rocky explained. "Sure he was." Remarked Jerome, using a sarcastic tone. This really is a problem. Duck thought. He must really still be mad at Rocky. Arlesburgh, unlike most of the trail, was a mess. Oliver was on the other side of town, thus they needed to go around to reach him and his train. Continuing along, there was a fallen telephone pole on the line next to them. "I got it." Remarked Jerome coldly. Albeit struggling, Jerome lifted up the telephone pole and put it aside. Rocky was shocked. "You shouldn't do that, Jerome. It's not worth the risk." He explained. "You know what, Rocky?! I'm not charging your life, so just go away!" Boomed Jerome. "But-" Began Duck. However, Rocky cut in. "No, Duck. It's fine, I'll be in that siding over there." Upon shunting Rocky into the siding, Duck and Jerome left. "We'll pick you up on the way back!" Called the pannier tank. "Alright!" Replied Rocky. Duck pulled Jerome along the line, picking up fallen telephone poles and debris from various fallen things. Eventually, they reached Oliver. "Oh, Duck! I'm so glad you're here." Said Oliver. "And me." Added Jerome. "I don't need some Rocky to help me." Oliver was quite confused. "Where's Judy?" "Oh, her crane arm was damaged, so Molly took her to be repaired." Although Oliver was lifted onto the rails just fine, he began to strain as he lifted up a salt van that still had her heavy load inside. "Hey, be careful!" She barked. Jerome began gasping for air. "This... is suddenly hard." "I should go get Rocky." Advised Duck. "We can't be down two cranes." He just groaned. "I'm fine, Duck." However, Jerome was not fine, and just like Judy, his crane arm collapsed, dropping the van to the ground. "Ow!" Shouted the two at the same time. Duck sighed. "Just great. Stay here, fellas, I'll get Rocky." Jerome was quick to protest. "I-I'll be fine, Duck! Watch!" He tried to lift his crane arm, but he couldn't manage to do it. He simply hit the van again. "Watch it!" Quickly rushing to the other side of the harbor, Duck coupled up to Rocky. "Huh? What's happening?!" He demanded. Duck was already heading back to Oliver and Jerome. "Jerome broke down, and we need somebody to help out." Rocky grinned from nonexistent ear to ear, and Duck continued to rush down the rails. Meanwhile, Jerome was moving back and forth, trying to get his crane working again. "That won't work." Sighed Oliver. "Oh, it will." Replied Jerome. "You'll just lurch over." "Oh, no I won-" He did. The poor van was also pulled onto her side. "Why does this keep on happening to me?!" She pleaded. "Just admit it, Jerome. You're growing old, and you need Rocky's help. I know what it feels like to be obsolete, me, Toad, and Isabel were nearly scrapped, but Douglas saved us. Newer technology is slowly taking over the world, and we just need to embrace it, otherwise this jealousy will rip us apart." Said Oliver, who was surprisingly calm for once. Jerome froze for a moment. "...you're right. Rocky won't want to help me, I'm a derailed breakdown crane, an old one at that, him and Judy can run the railway just fine. Maybe the Earl's in need of an exhibit of some sort." "Don't be like that." Said Oliver. "Judy couldn't handle herself, you two have been best friends as long as I can remember!" He chuckled. Suddenly, Duck and Rocky arrived. The latter gasped. "Jerome! What happened here?" "That doesn't matter. I'm sorry, Rocky. I've been horrible just because I'm not used to change. I should know that change is a huge thing." Rocky smiled, and he was hooked to Jerome. "Rocky, you can't lift Jerome!" Noted Duck. "Oh yeah? Try me." Chuckled the crane as he winked. Slowly lifting up Jerome, Rocky gasped in pain, it was an extremely hard task to lift a fellow crane. Duck, Oliver, and the trucks watched in shock as Rocky expressed his strength like never before. "Hooray for Rocky!" Cheered Duck. As Jerome was lifted onto the rails, Duck shunted the trucks into a siding, along with taking Oliver and Jerome to the Steamworks, with Rocky in tow. While Victor was instructing Duck where to put Oliver, Judy, Jerome, and Rocky were all talking. "He lifted me up, Judy! Can you believe that?!" Exclaimed Jerome. Rocky chuckled. "All in a day's work." Judy smiled. "Jerome, I'm just glad you've finally noticed that Rocky is just as useful as you, and I hope this means that you two can be friends now." She said. Duck was listening to them. "Only if Gordon and Diesel treated each other so well." He sighed. "Are they still arguing?" Victor asked. Duck groaned. "Yeah, it's been like this for over two whole weeks. All because of a misunderstanding." "I don't know any ways to fix it, but if I come up with any, I'll tell you." "Well, thanks, Victor." Duck whistled a goodbye and coupled up to Rocky. "Alright, Rocky. Let's get you to the Search and Rescue Center!" The others wished their goodbyes as Duck and Rocky left, but Victor had a look of worry on his face. If that feud keeps on going, the railway will be a place of negativity and conflict. He pondered in his mind. Characters *Duck *Oliver *Molly *Victor *Rocky *Judy and Jerome *Flora (Cameo) *Kevin (Cameo) *Skiff (Cameo) *Gordon (Mentioned) *Douglas (Mentioned) *Glynn (Mentioned) *Neil (Mentioned) *Diesel (Mentioned) *Toad (Mentioned) *Isabel (Mentioned) *Sir Robert Norramby (Mentioned) Trivia *Both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are mentioned, extremely powerful hurricanes that have hit North America as of late. *Duck's role was planned to be played by Ryan, but TheLocoLover wanted to have Duck play the role instead. Category:Sudrian Stories Category:Episodes Category:Sudrian Stories Episodes Category:Sudrian Stories - Season 2